Textbroker Review – Is it Worth the Work?

Textbroker is a middleman site that connects clients, looking for content, with writers. If you’ve written for “content mills” before, than chances are you’ve heard of Textbroker. They’re one of the bigger names in the industry.

Unlike survey sites, content mills can make you some decent money, but can they make you enough? Is Textbroker a legitimate opportunity? This Textbroker review answers that question and much more! Read on!

Note: This Textbroker review is from the author’s perspective, not from the client’s side.

Program Overview

This review has been a long time in coming. Frankly, I’m shocked it has taken me so long to circle back around. If you know anything about me, you know that my first shot at making money online was with freelance writing.

When I started, I didn’t have any experience with freelancing or working online. Somewhere along the line I discovered “content mills.” Content mills are essentially brokers that find available writing assignments and present them to writers. Textbroker (TB) was one of the content mills that I stumbled upon, and it quickly became my favorite.

I want to point out the fact that I no longer write for Textbroker. I will elaborate on my reasoning further in the review. Just note, this is a fair and accurate assessment of the program.

The Registration Process

Currently TB only hires US citizens. This is in accordance with IRS tax laws. You will need to send in a copy of your ID to prove that you are a US citizen. A lot of people are concerned over sending in their ID, but you are allowed to block out your license number.

No license number = No identity theft. (Trust me, I’m a mathlete.)

Beyond that, it is a simple process to become an author for TB. You will fill out your basic information, and once that is complete, you will be asked to submit a writing sample between 120 and 250 words. This writing sample is based on a prompt that will be provided to you. This will be your first encounter with the TB text entry box.

As you can see, this is a very simple tool. In fact, the simplicity of this tool is one of the biggest complaints lobbied against TB. There are far worse content mills with far better text entry tools. You should write your articles in a word tool that has a spelling and grammar checker, then paste them into this box (this method makes a big difference when you don’t have time to edit as you write).

Take your time with your writing sample, because it can make or break your experience with TB. Your sample will be given a rating of 2-5 stars based on the quality of the content. You will receive your rating within a few days.

Once you’ve received your initial rating, you can write 5 articles and then you will be blocked from doing anymore. These articles will be rated and your overall rating is a mean average of the results. You can then begin taking assignments, that are at your star level, from the open-order pool.

The Rating System and the Open-Order Pool

You want your writing sample to receive a good rating.

Why?

Your star rating is going to directly impact how much money you can make. You can only accept assignments that are at, or below, your level. If you are a 4-star author, you can take any assignment from the pool that is requesting a 4 or below, but you cannot take a 5-star assignment.

This is a screen shot of the open-order pool. As you can see, the assignments are separated by category and which star level is requested by the client. You may also notice that I have a low rating. Please don’t tease me… my mom thinks I’m cool.

Beyond the availability of assignments, your star rating also impacts your rate of pay. The different ratings are broken down as follows:

2-stars – This is considered average. You will be paid 0.7 cents per word.

5-stars – Authors at this level are considered professional writers. Unlike the other levels, you will need to pass an extremely difficult proofreading test in order to become a 5-star author. At this level you are paid 5 cents per word.

I know that these pay rates look abysmal, but honestly, at least in my experience, they are comparable to other content mills (if not a little better).

You are not limited to the assignments that are in the open-order pool. Clients can send you direct-orders if they like your work, and you can also join teams.

Some members report making a full-time income from team-orders and direct-orders.

The Payment Process

I really like TB’s payment system. The minimum amount for payout is $10. Payouts are sent every Friday, so make sure to request your payout by Thursday night.

You are paid each time a client accepts an article that you have written for them. If they do not accept within 3 days, you will be paid for your work.

If you are a 4-star author that takes a 2-star assignment, you will be paid at the 2-star level.

Quality Control (The Review Process)

The number one complaint I’ve seen is regarding TB reviews on assignments. Every 5 articles that you complete will be rated by TB staff. Each article will receive a star rating, and the average rating for these will be your new rating. You can upgrade from a 3-star author to a 4-star author if and when the overall quality of your articles improves.

Alternatively, you can be demoted if the quality of your work suffers. This enrages some members, because they can have one “off day” and be demoted from a rating they’ve held down for years.

Honestly, I like this system. It ensures that only quality content is being produced.

There are some content mills that charge their authors a monthly fee just to view available assignments. THAT is a scam. You should never have to pay someone for the right to work for them. TB has a much better platform. It is completely free to register as an author, because TB makes their money on the client’s end.

The publishers (clients) pay the authors for their desired content, and TB collects a tiny cut on each sale. To keep their clients happy (and coming back for more), they have to consistently deliver quality content.

The Reason I Quit Writing for Content Mills

Because I am a big fan of the Oxford Comma…. (If you get that reference, we can be friends!)

I learned a lot during my time at the mills. I knew that I was writing content for other people’s benefit, but I really had no idea how they were using this content.

One day (a day that changed the course of my destiny) I accepted an assignment asking for a summary of Affiliate Marketing. I had no idea what affiliate marketing was, but I knew all about it by the time I was done with that assignment.

At Textbroker I was working for pennies. All of the content that I wrote was making the people implementing it far more money than it was making me. I’d make around $10 per article, and that was it. As an affiliate marketer, an article of the same length will continue to pay me (in passive income) indefinitely.

There are plenty of ways for writers to make money. Content mills have a way of crushing your creativity (they don’t like “fluff”). This didn’t work well for me. I’m more of a creative writer than a technical writer.

Content Mills are a good place to get your feet wet. Gain a little experience with freelancing, improve your writing, and get out! Stop making other people money, and start writing for yourself.

The Final Word…

Textbroker is 100% legitimate. At times, they give off a “big brother” vibe. You aren’t allowed to talk about other programs or websites within the forums (shout out to the Water Cooler gang!) and they monitor messages between clients and authors. Aside from that, I never had a tremendous problem with them.

My biggest problem was the lack of money I was making. I solved this problem by becoming an affiliate marketer. I never would have been as successful as I am, without the free education and experience I acquired through Textbroker.

If you are interested in doing what I do for a living, you are going to need to find an educational community to teach you the ropes. I really enjoyed the community over at Textbroker.

I was distracted by the forums on a daily basis.

When I was researching affiliate marketing, I found the perfect learning resource and a fantastic community to boot! Check out my #1 recommendation for more information.

Do you have any personal experience with Textbroker? Do you feel I’ve left anything out? All questions and comments are welcomed below!

Derek Rees

I am the owner of Pajamas and Tie. After years of being scammed, I've taken it upon myself to expose these schemes and let the legitimate programs shine through. You can find me on my site or hanging out over at Wealthy Affiliate.

I have retired from the world of content mills. My own business keeps me flush and I am no longer dependent on work from others. Having said that, I will occasionally author guest blogs when I enjoy the subject matter.

Hi Derek.
I just thought I would come byagain and check out all of your great articles. It turns out that we got started making money online the same way- Textbroker.
I have to say that the company is honest and that a person can actually make money if they have a lot of time to spend writing articles and remain to willing to work for what amounts to slave labor.

Thank you for the honest review. I am a teacher looking to transition to writing so I have been checking out all of the freelance writing opportunities. I just wanted to add that I am a HUGE fan of the Oxford comma and have taught my students the correct use of this for years. I hate that my writing gets incorrectly critiqued because of it. Argh.

Hi Derek
Glad i stumbled upon your blog. Really hard to get quality at affordable prices but its good to hear from someone who was inside.
Clearly its a company someone can give it a try as your post is informative and fantastic.
Good on you to take the leap and go out there and make it yourself.

I’m a client. I started to look for someone writing my webpages including some SEO oriented pages that compares my product with my competitors but should be also serious informative texts.

I first looked at Fiverr and then Textbroker and they scared me away. I do not believe that i will ever get good enough content from there. I don’t want to receive a SEO article that is just good enough to make money from a few adword clicks by misdirected surfers – and this seems that all them only target of this market.

So where can i find good writers who work collaborate with me to create a good webpage. 10 Cent per word, 20 Cent per word on the home page. Isn’t there a fairtrade content mill.

Textbroker is good, but most of the reviewers rated it only 3 stars… I used to order 4 stars article. It’s acceptable …. But it’s so expensive… Do you have any other site that’s reliable and better than Textbroker for content, SEO, or article??

I never heard of IWriter but I will check it out. I just started with Textbroker. Are there other similar sites so I can have multiple streams of income? I’m not looking to get rich quick, but rather supplement my current income from my full-time job.

Why are content mills so cheap? Magazines pay 1-2.00 per word, the big ones. I made $1000 on my first article to McCalls twenty years ago – check out Writers Market by Writers Digest. If you all are willing to do all that work, the money is there.

Textbroker is legitimate and will pay you, but the pay is insulting. If you are not an expert writer, you will be stuck at 3 stars for a long time. The 3-stay pay is awful. The research is too aggravating for the low pay. Textbroker is like a “sweatshop” of the digital age. It is too much work just to make a little pocket change.

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Welcome to Pajamas and Tie!

My name is Derek. After years of being ripped-off online, I've taken it upon myself to shine a light on the programs that can actually make you money and expose the scams for what they are. I write product reviews and provide beginners with the tools they need to start an Internet Marketing career.

Utilize the reviews that I've written to find a program that will work for you! It takes a lot of hard work but before you know it, you can be making a full-time income online. All from the comfort of your own home!

Ditch your "suit and tie" job for a Pajamas and Tie career! What are you waiting for?